Warm, sweet-powdery bottom notes with musk-like olfactory properties, which can extend from flowery-sweet (musk ambrette) via powdery-animalic (musk ketone) to even herby-woody tonalites (musk xylene), are almost indispensable in the composition of a perfume as well in the perfuming e.g. of cosmetics, washing and cleaning agents, conditioners or air fresheners. With regard to such olfactory characteristics and also because of their industrially simple and economical synthesis, aromatic musk substances have earned particular significance in perfumery and have been used universally and in high dosages. These compounds, especially musk xylene and musk ambrette, have, however, a certain toxicity, especially phototoxicity, as well as poor biological degradability. Depending on territorial regulations their use in new creations may be banned and have to be replaced by other compounds in old creations.
Other compounds with musk-like olfactory properties, especially toxicologically harmless macrocycles, are, however, significantly more expensive and have, inter alia, other side notes. Accordingly, when a nitromusk is replaced by a macrocycle the overall olfactory impression of a composition usually changes substantially. Moreover, the macrocycles which are commercially available today are by far not as facet-rich as the series of aforementioned highly substituted aromatics.
From the foregoing it will be evident that there exists a great need for novel non-toxic macrocyclic compounds with novel olfactory notes, especially such which are reminiscent of aromatic musk substances or with which similar facet-rich perfumistic effects can be produced. Moreover, such macrocyclic compounds should be simple and economical to manufacture in order that they can be used not only in luxury perfumes, but also in every day products, e.g. in cosmetics, washing and cleaning agents, conditioners or air fresheners.